Shortages of beds, oxygen and staff reported across island of Java as number of cases rise sharply
Hospitals across the Indonesian island of Java are running out of oxygen, medicines, beds and even staff as a sharp rise in Covid cases pushes the country’s health system to the brink.
Indonesia, which is facing one of the worst outbreaks in Asia, announced 34,379 new cases and 1,040 fatalities on Wednesday, both record highs.
Continue reading...More than 100 scientists and doctors say move risks creating a generation with problems due to long Covid
Lifting the remaining Covid restrictions in England this month is “dangerous and premature”, according to international scientists and doctors, who have called on the UK government to pause reopening until more people are vaccinated.
Writing in the Lancet, more than 100 global experts warn that removing restrictions on 19 July will cause millions of infections and risk creating a generation with chronic health problems and disability from long Covid, the impact of which may be felt for decades.
Continue reading...A look at the demographics as 18.5 million people in the UK fall into the heightened risk category
About 18.5 million individuals, or 24.4% of the UK population, are at increased risk of developing severe Covid because of underlying health conditions. It is well known that older people are at high risk, but the understanding of all the risk factors is incomplete. Experts say that this knowledge needs to develop at speed to support policy and planning given that social restrictions will end in England on 19 July.
Continue reading...The World Health Organization has urged countries to use extreme caution when easing Covid-19 restrictions to reopen their economies. Dr Michael Ryan, director of the WHO health emergencies programme, said: ‘The idea that everyone is protected and it’s Kumbaya and everything goes back to normal, I think right now is a very dangerous assumption.’ Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added that the pandemic was not over and that the milestone of 4 million reported deaths had just been passed.
Their comments came as Boris Johnson set out plans to end social and economic coronavirus restrictions in England on 19 July
Continue reading...Focus shifts from eastern suburbs to Sydney’s south-west with Gladys Berejiklian not ruling out stricter measures for three local government areas
The greater Sydney lockdown has been extended for a week after New South Wales recorded another 27 local Covid cases and health officials expressed concern about the growing spread of the virus in some south-western suburbs.
The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, said the decision to extend the lockdown was a difficult but necessary one.
Continue reading...Indonesia also reports record new infections for third day in a row; China reports 57 new cases in highest tally since 30 January
Australia will send 2.5m AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Indonesia and will fund 1,000 ventilators as the country battles record-high Covid cases that are pushing the health system to breaking point.
The aid package, announced on Wednesday night, is in response to growing calls for Australia to help its most populous neighbour.
Related: Australia to send 2.5m AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Indonesia as Covid infections soar
South Korea has reported its second highest number of daily cases, shortly after it began relaxing restrictions in some parts of the country.
Seoul, which is home to more than half of the country’s population, accounts for the majority of the 1,212 infections registered by midnight on Tuesday, leading officials to extend curbs on movement in capital for at least one more week, Reuters reports. Some 85% of the new locally transmitted infections were in in the Seoul metropolitan area.
Continue reading...Aid package, including 1,000 ventilators, announced after nation records daily high of 31,189 coronavirus cases
Australia will send 2.5m AstraZeneca vaccine doses to Indonesia and will fund 1,000 ventilators as the country battles record-high Covid cases that are pushing the health system to breaking point.
The aid package, announced on Wednesday night, is in response to growing calls for Australia to help its most populous neighbour.
Continue reading...Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, many countries have brought in rules, and even laws, requiring people to wear face masks to help contain the spread of the virus. But as restrictions are being lifted globally, many governments are loosening the rules around mandatory face coverings.
With the requirements due to be dropped in England on 19 July, the Guardian's science correspondent Natalie Grover looks at why masks are more about protecting others than ourselves, and where we still might want to wear them
Analysis: Boris Johnson is betting big by easing rules on 19 July despite new infections rising exponentially
Lifting the final Covid restrictions in England on 19 July is a gamble for the government. Even without further easing, cases are on course to surpass 50,000 a day by mid-July. Thereafter they could swiftly exceed the winter peak of 81,000 and hit 100,000 or more, the health secretary has said. What the next wave means for lives and the NHS is still deeply uncertain – but the science offers some clues.
Continue reading...New Zealand has dismissed suggestions it should follow in Britain’s footsteps to “live with” Covid-19. Prime minister Jacinda Ardern responded the question of whether the country would accept deaths from Covid, saying: "Different countries are taking different choices." The response comes as the UK leader Boris Johnson announced plans to scrap regulations including on face masks and social distancing by 19 July, saying that Britain must "learn to live with” the virus".
Continue reading...From South Korea to Australia, authorities are struggling to contain the highly transmissible coronavirus strain that has caused a surge in UK, Europe and US
Countries throughout Asia Pacific – from South Korea to Australia – have been hit by a rise in coronavirus infections as the Delta variant threatens a new wave of the pandemic even in a region renowned for tackling the virus with a high degree of success.
China reported 57 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for 6 July, up from 23 cases a day earlier, the national health authority said on Wednesday. It was the highest daily tally of infections since 30 January.
Continue reading...Some women had coughs or a fever but were reportedly told ‘not to complain’
Organisers pushed ahead with a Mexican beauty pageant in spite of a Covid-19 outbreak that infected almost half the contestants, it has emerged.
At least 15 of the 32 contestants in the Miss Mexico 2021 pageant tested positive for coronavirus. A pageant staff member also tested positive, according to the Chihuahua state health secretariat.
Continue reading...The US president, Joe Biden, outlined new steps to reach unvaccinated Americans and noted that more than 160 million citizens will be vaccinated by the end of this week. New coronavirus cases and deaths are also down 90% since January, allowing Americans to start 'living their lives as they did before', he said.
'The bottom line is, the virus is on the run, and America is coming back, and we’re coming back together,' Biden said. 'But our fight against this virus is not over.' The White House said earlier today that it would expand door-to-door outreach efforts in communities with lower vaccination efforts
Continue reading...Analysis: a further delay in a bid to contain the rapid rise in the infection rate would present its own problems
“Freedom is in our sights once again!” Sajid Javid told Conservative MPs on Tuesday, as he announced that double-jabbed people will not be required to quarantine from 16 August if they come in contact with a Covid sufferer.
That mid-August date was the one concession to caution in a package of measures for “freedom day” that was more liberal than many at Westminster had expected, and has led Labour to accuse the government of being reckless.
Continue reading...
Joe Biden will soon deliver remarks on his administration’s ongoing efforts to vaccinate more Americans against coronavirus.
The Biden administration has already said it will launch more targeted outreach efforts in communities with lower vaccination rates, amid concerns about the spread of the delta variant of the virus.
The Hillbilly Elegy author turned Republican Ohio Senate candidate JD Vance has apologised for a former political position: critic of Donald Trump.
“Like a lot of people, I criticised Trump back in 2016,” Vance told Fox News. “And I ask folks not to judge me based on what I said in 2016, because I’ve been very open that I did say those critical things and I regret them, and I regret being wrong about the guy.”
Related: Hillbilly Elegy author JD Vance sorry for since-deleted anti-Trump tweets
Continue reading...Greece reports 1,797 new daily cases more than twice the 801 cases reported on Monday; curbs on nightlife in Catalonia to reduce impact of virus on young
Heathrow, the Gaucho restaurant chain and the City Pub Group are set to continue with mask-wearing rules despite government plans to sweep away most safety measures from 19 July.
Related: Heathrow and some hospitality in England to retain masks after 19 July
Good evening, Harry Taylor bringing you the latest coronavirus updates from the UK and around the world for the rest of tonight.
If you have any comments, tips or suggestions – drop me an email to harry.taylor.casual@theguardian.com or via Twitter @HarryTaylr.
Continue reading...Critics say government not doing enough to help neighbour as record cases deplete oxygen supplies
The Australian government has been urged to rapidly step up its assistance to Indonesia, amid warnings the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases is fuelling an “escalating crisis right on our doorstep”.
With aid groups fearing the Indonesian health system is on the verge of collapse, and with oxygen and bed shortages reported in some hospitals, there are growing calls for the Morrison government to help its most populous neighbour.
Continue reading...Vulnerable and immunocompromised people anxious about 19 July end to Covid rules
Boris Johnson’s “freedom day” will be a day of fear for elderly and vulnerable people and those with compromised or suppressed immune systems, for whom the efficacy of vaccines is much reduced, charities have warned.
Citing the statement by the new health secretary, Sajid Javid, that Covid infections could surge to a record 100,000 a day in a few weeks after all social distancing and mask-wearing regulations are removed in England, Blood Cancer UK has said that 19 July “will be the day that it feels like freedoms are being taken away from” many people.
Continue reading...Close contacts of people in England who have tested positive for Covid will not need to self-isolate if they have received both Covid jabs, or if they are under 18, the health secretary, Sajid Javid, has told the Commons. People will still need to self-isolate if they test positive for the virus. 'This new approach means we can manage the virus in a way that's proportionate to the pandemic while maintaining the freedoms that are so important to us all,' he said
Continue reading...Although four vaccines are available, some shots are deemed by some more desirable than others
Cities across Brazil are clamping down on “vaccine sommeliers” who seek to cherrypick their Covid shots despite the devastating epidemic still gripping Latin America’s largest nation.
More than half a million Brazilians have lost their lives to an outbreak the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, stands accused of ruinously mishandling. Yet some citizens have shown themselves to be perplexingly selective about which brand of vaccine they receive.
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